


One Man Audience

by Amari



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 01:01:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amari/pseuds/Amari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a specific way to move around the Roosterteeth office. To stay out of sight meant you had to dance, and that dancing is exactly what Ray did. Unbeknownst to him, he had an Audience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Man Audience

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of my very first fics on tumblr, and my very first Joelay, so it's a little rough compared to other works.

It was always entertaining, watching the little Ray try and make his way through the office. He was constantly focused on his feet, afraid to make eye contact with the other employees there. He was glued to the walls, making himself as small as possible. He moved silently, and smoothly, whatever it took to avoid conversation with others. He was the moving shadow of Roosterteeth. The silent dancer.

He was always watching Ray whenever possible. The small movements that he made, like always tapping on walls for a sense of balance, or spinning on his feet at the last second to avoid hitting someone that never saw him in the first place, were the most intoxicating things ever seen. He was dancing for an audience of one. However, when you are on stage, with the lights beaming down on you, you can’t see who’s in the seats.   
This dance went on and on, and occasionally the dance was rewarded with Roses, given under the name of “Jesus” yet assumed it was Burnie that was the one who gave them. 

It wasn’t. 

Ray made it obvious that he appreciated the gesture, the roses, made his “performance” all the better. He was lighter on his feet, shining in the office light just a bit brighter, and if someone had actually looked at the man, you might have been able to see the white of a smile.   
The member of the one man audience was just as pleased. 

The dance continued. 

The dance seemed like a dream. Caught between practice and the real thing, an audience full of empty seats, the “people” cheered him on in silence. Yet, the lights eventually dimmed, and Ray looked up from his feet and saw him for the first time. 

Ray finally saw his audience. He’d been caught in his dance of avoidance. A deer in the headlights. The eyes of this man pierced though him, and Ray knew that his dance would never be the same. 

The man had a name, he was sure of.

Joel Hayman. 

From that moment of eye contact, no words were said, but every word was communicated. “I see you, I know you are there.”   
Ray broke away from the gaze or at the very least tried to. He had to keep moving his brain told him. Ignore the audience, and pretend they aren’t there. He always did that before, and he hoped to continue as he felt the lights on the stage turn on again. 

His dance really was never the same. He crippled under the idea of an audience. The older man’s eyes burning into the back of Ray’s head. Ray’s dance became clumsy, as he now bumped into people on occasion, a soft muttered apology needing to be given. His limbs slowly became noodles and unresponsive. His training and practice seemed to amount to nothing now. His dance was meant to keep him safe from people, the doors should have been locked, how did the Joel get there?  
It burned in his mind as he rested “backstage” at home. Why was there someone watching him? Why was it such a harsh gaze? What was the man thinking? Does he see the dance that Ray puts on day after day? Ray’s focus evaporated as the questions cluttered his brain. 

Again, he tried to do his dance. It was even worse now. Sloppy, messy. He felt exposed under Joel’s gaze. He struggled through the day, he even slipped and fell a few times tripping over his own two feet. 

This didn’t go unnoticed by his viewer. His number one and only fan wasn’t going to let this happen to Ray. 

After most of the shadows that were his co-workers had left, there were only the two of them left. Ray swallowed hard, knowing that he was going to finally be forced to speak to this man that’s ruined him. His fear confirmed when Joel finally stands up from his “seat” to approach the dancer. His steps toward Ray are careful and calculated. Each step taking a beat that seemed similar to Ray. He knew the sound of those steps, they were the kind of steps Ray was able to make before he noticed his Audience. It was reassuring to know that the man had truly been watching, yet frightening all the same. 

Joel closed the distance between them now. Ray’s heart pounding against chest in anticipation. What would be the words carried on the man’s mouth? Kind words? Harsh words? Apologies? 

The man’s mouth instead carried a smile. His arm presented to Ray a single red rose. 

“May I join this dance with you, and lose the world around us, or would you like to sit with me in the stands and watch others fail at what you do so beautifully?”


End file.
